Susan Sutherland ’82 and Lael Brainard ’83 have been nominated for positions at the US Federal Reserve Bank. Susan will oversee the Seattle branch of Federal Reserve from San Francisco, where she currently serves as senior VP. Lael, currently the Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, was recently appointed by President Obama to the position of Federal Reserve governor.

Many thanks to Elisa Davis ’91, who noted the connection between the two graduates and came up with the title of this article on Weschat.

At Wesleyan, Lael Brainard studied at the College of Social Studies and graduated with highest honors. She went on to receive her masters and doctoral degrees from Harvard. Lael has been a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, an advisor for McKinsey & Company and an economic advisor for Presidents Clinton and Obama. The following is from Ozy magazine:

Whether pushing America’s frenemies on currency manipulation or taking on critics of the President’s Wall Street reforms, Lael Brainard — until recently the administration’s top economic diplomat — and her no-nonsense approach to some of the world’s toughest economic challenges are headed over to the Federal Reserve.

There, she’ll be part of President Obama’s dramatic remaking of the powerful board of governors that controls America’s money supply, and with it, some of the major levers for influencing the U.S. economy.

Susan Sutherland received her BA in government in 1982, and went on to receive a Masters in Organizational Development from Pepperdine University. In 1988, Susan began working for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She has continued to rise in the ranks, starting as a receptionist and now serving as the senior vice president. The following is from Boston.com:

Susan Sutherland will be expanding her responsibilities to include oversight of the Seattle Branch Office and its board of directors, effective March 1, 2014. Ms. Sutherland is currently senior vice president, human resources and statistics, and director of the Office of Diversity & Inclusion for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

She succeeds Mark Gould, who was recently appointed first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.